


Hunters' Bibles

by TalkMagically



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 14:22:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16955649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalkMagically/pseuds/TalkMagically
Summary: John explains the significance of journals to Jo.





	Hunters' Bibles

Jo wasn’t entirely sure why she was idly flipping through John’s journal. She had already read the thing forwards and backwards so many times that she could quote any page verbatim on a whim. It wasn’t like she needed anything from it, either. Not like Sam and Dean always did whenever John caved and let them wander off to take care of a case on their own. If there was anything she couldn’t remember, she’d just ask the author for the answer.

“You should start writing your own,” John spoke up, causing Jo to jolt in surprise. She hadn’t heard him enter their motel room. “One of these days I’m going to have to let Dean or Sam keep it considering how often they borrow it.”

“How? By copying yours?” Jo asked. She closed the journal and pushed it aside as she stood up from the small table.

“Yeah. Copy what I have. Add anything new you’ve learned and make it your own. The rules are always changing, so don’t think you’ll have an exact copy of mine. No two hunters’ journals are ever the same,” John said.

“And you know this how?”

“By comparing mine to other’s.”

John tossed his bag to the foot of the bed and sat down on the mattress. He was exhausted from chasing leads back and forth across the city.

“Compare your things to others a lot, do you?” Jo said with a grin.

“It’s a necessity,” John shot back, not bothering to look up from where he stretched out. He knew the mischievous face Jo was giving him without seeing it.

“Your journal has everything I’ve ever needed and more. What could I possibly add to make it my own?” Jo asked as she joined John stretched out on the bed.

“Your journal is your life line. Sometimes you just can’t connect the dots until long after several cases. By then, your memory is faded and you can’t remember all the details. There will come a time when your own experience will help you far more than my experience ever could, and you will need a record of it. I don’t want you to be unprepared.”

“You sound like I should be treating my journal as holy scripture,” Jo commented.

“You should,” John responded. He turned his head to look at Jo face-to-face. “You absolutely should. You can’t just walk into a library and ask where they keep their supernatural encyclopedias. You need to create your own that provides the information you want whenever you need it. Many people will die before you finish, I’m not going to lie about that, but it will guide everything you do when it’s complete. A hunter’s life is reflected in their journal. You will come to see that.”

“And what happens when I don’t have the experience and your experience isn’t helpful?” Jo felt she had to ask. John always got talkative with her after a long day of getting nothing, and she would be willing to admit that she egged him on most of the time just so she could hear his voice drone on.

“Pray that day never comes. For if it does, you’ll be seeing your father and Mary soon afterward,” John said, turning his eyesight back to the ceiling in discomfort.

Jo turned away and hugged herself, finally seeing why John had taken the opportunity to lecture her into starting her own journal. Her own father never kept a journal. Mary Winchester never kept a journal. Both died from something that could have been prevented if the resources were available.

John let out a sigh and turned back to Jo, pulling her towards him so her back was pressed against his chest before kissing her neck.

“I love you, Jo.”

“I love you, too, John,” Jo replied. She closed her eyes and pulled John’s arm tighter around her. She’ll make John take her to select a journal tomorrow.


End file.
